"Just now in front of your father, why didn't you try to excuse your uncle?"
The queen looked haggardly at the crown prince, with disappointment in her eyes. "Don't forget that it's because of the Wang family, your maternal clan, that you can sit firmly on the position of the crown prince!"
"Mother is wrong," the crown prince, who had remained silent without refuting, suddenly spoke up. "I can sit firmly on the position of the crown prince because I'm the son of the emperor, and you're the queen. I once reminded my grandfather to be more restrained, but what did he do?"
The crown prince fixed his sharp eyes on his mother reclining on the beauty couch, his voice serious. "Mother isn't unaware of what grandfather has done. You just didn't expect father to be so quick to make up his mind to deal with the Wang family!"
"You..." The queen opened her mouth, raised her finger and pointed at the crown prince. Finally, she heaved a long sigh and lowered her arm.
This son had never listened to her, and her father had never really cared about her feelings as his daughter.
Now...
"But the Wang family is your maternal clan. You can't just sit by and watch them perish!"
The crown prince lowered his eyes, his gaze sweeping across the table in front of the queen. He said coldly, "Has anyone from the Wang family entered the palace?"
The queen nodded. "Your eldest uncle's wife has entered the palace. She wanted me to plead with your father, but your father hasn't set foot in the harem these days. I'm simply powerless."
The harem is not allowed to interfere in state affairs. Even she, as the queen, is not qualified to enter the imperial study where military and state affairs are discussed.
So she could only pin her hopes on her son, hoping that he would plead with his father.
But who would have thought that this son actually advised the emperor to severely punish his uncle without any intention of saving him.
"If anyone from the Wang family comes again, mother can just dismiss them at will. By the way, tell grandfather that there's only one master in the Great Yue Kingdom. If the Wang family remains stubborn, even if father takes my feelings into consideration, he won't spare them lightly!"
After saying that, the crown prince turned around and walked out. The queen panicked a bit. "My son, what do you mean by that?"
"Just what it says!" The crown prince stopped in his tracks, thought for a moment and then added, "Mother, you're from the Qin family, not the Wang family!"
After saying that, he walked out of the palace without looking back.
Back then, the emperor chose him as the crown prince partly because of the Wang family. But over the years, the emperor's teachings and the efforts he had put into him were not fake.
If he were really so ignorant as to plead for the Wang family, he would really hurt the feelings between him and the emperor.
...
In the Marquis of Dingguo's Mansion, Qin Junxing used the same old trick and sent the personal eunuch of the Fourth Princess to call someone.
After a short while, instead of Xie Fengran coming out, Lan Fang came out. She bowed to the carriage and said, "Your Highness, our young lady said that she still has things to do. Please go back first!"
"...Did your young lady say anything else?"
Lan Fang shook her head.
Qin Junxing gritted his teeth slightly, waved his hand and said, "I understand!"
After saying that, he knocked on the carriage, and the carriage drove away.
Lan Fang turned around and went to the Green Pine Courtyard.
Xie Fengran didn't lie to Qin Junxing. She really did have things to do.
The Elder Lady Xie was ill, sick from anger!
After she went to the academy in the morning, the Elder Lady Xie dealt with Concubine Yuan resolutely. She directly sent Concubine Yuan to the manor.
All the insiders around Concubine Yuan were beaten to death with sticks.
As for the teacher, after a series of threats from the Elder Lady Xie, he obediently kept his mouth shut and left the marquis's mansion dejectedly.
By the time Xie Yi returned to the mansion, Concubine Yuan had already been sent away. The Elder Lady Xie then called Xie Yi into the room, and the mother and son talked for an hour.
As for what they talked about, Xie Fengran had no way of knowing. When she came back from school, she heard the news that the Elder Lady Xie had fallen ill.
"Grandmother, since things have come to this, you should only relax. Now you're the stabilizing force of the marquis's mansion. You must take good care of your health!"
Xie Fengran took the medicine from the maid, let it cool down a bit and then handed it to the Elder Lady Xie's mouth.
The Elder Lady Xie sighed and let Xie Fengran feed her the medicine.
"Fengran, it was wrong of me to suspect you before. But now... sigh!"
What an unfortunate family! What an unfortunate family!
Xie Fengran knew what the Elder Lady Xie was thinking. She immediately changed the topic. "Grandmother, this morning when I said that there was some progress regarding Mr. Chenghui's matter, I wasn't talking nonsense!"
"Oh? Who is it?" The Elder Lady Xie immediately perked up.
"Do you still remember, grandmother, that grandfather had a disciple surnamed Zhou?"
"Zhou?" The Elder Lady Xie's face changed. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but then swallowed it back and nodded. "I remember. Your grandfather once praised him more than once, saying that he was the one most capable of inheriting his mantle. It's a pity..."
"Grandfather's talent was recognized even by the emperor. This Teacher Zhou, who could receive such high praise from grandfather, must be very talented. Grandmother, I'd like to invite him to be Chenghui's teacher."
"This..." The Elder Lady Xie didn't expect Xie Fengran to come up with such a bombshell. She asked in a daze, "That man is a teacher in the imperial academy. Why would he come to our mansion to teach a little boy?"
What she didn't say was that back then, when something happened to the Zhou family, the late Marquis Xie could be said to be partly responsible. Now she wanted to invite that person.
Could it work?
Xie Fengran knew what the Elder Lady Xie was thinking. She comforted her and said, "Don't worry, grandmother. I met Teacher Zhou that day. When he mentioned grandfather to me, he showed great admiration and longing. When I mentioned that there was a little boy in the family, Teacher Zhou didn't refuse."
"Grandmother, in the end, it's because of grandfather's kindness. Moreover, I can tell that Teacher Zhou isn't an ungrateful person!"
The Elder Lady Xie nodded. "Since that's the case, then you go and formally invite Teacher Zhou on my behalf." After thinking for a while, she felt that it would be too hasty to just send Xie Fengran to invite him.
This was a major matter concerning the future of the marquis's mansion. After much thought, she instructed Xie Fengran, "When you take Chenghui to visit him, ask your father to go with you. Otherwise, don't let Teacher Zhou think that the marquis's mansion doesn't value him."
"If my health were better, I should go myself!"
The Elder Lady Xie was always very clear - headed when it came to recognizing reality.
Xie Fengran didn't refuse. "Since Teacher Zhou is grandfather's disciple, if you go to invite him, it will make Teacher Zhou feel uneasy. It's just right for father to go. It won't make people think that our marquis's mansion has lost its etiquette."
The Elder Lady Xie nodded with satisfaction. "That's exactly the point. You should carefully choose the apprenticeship gift and bring it to me to have a look later."
"Yes, grandmother. There's no hurry for this. You should take good care of your illness. Teacher Zhou also said that he would come to visit you!"
The Elder Lady Xie nodded seriously. "Then I should really take good care of my illness."
Her illness was actually not a serious one. She was just angry and worried about a teacher for Xie Chenghui. The anxiety and anger had taken their toll on her, which was why she had fallen ill like this.
Now that the matter of the teacher had been resolved, half of her illness was gone!
Xie Fengran walked out of the Green Pine Courtyard. After thinking for a while, she decided to go to the study to inform her father, so as to avoid any mishaps.
But unexpectedly, she didn't see him in the study.
Xie Fengran then asked someone to keep an eye on the front yard. As soon as Xie Yi came back, they were to tell him.
She waited for half the night. It was not until the moon was high in the sky that Xie Yi was sent back drunk.
Xie Fengran thought for a while, got up and went to the front yard with Zhu Qing and Lan Fang to check.
When she saw the person who had sent her father back, she was shocked. "Why is it you?"